Awakening the Zodiac is a 2017 Canadian mystery crime drama that builds a fictional story around the unsolved Zodiac Killer case. The film was directed by Jonathan Wright and headlined by Shane West and Leslie Bibb.
Premise
The plot follows a married couple, Mick and Zoe Branson, who acquire the contents of an abandoned storage unit and discover material they come to believe is connected to the Zodiac Killer. Hoping to claim reward money, they set out to identify the killer themselves, putting themselves in danger as a result.
Cast
- Shane West as Mick Branson
- Leslie Bibb as Zoe Branson
- Matt Craven as Harvey
- Kenneth Welsh as Ben
- Nicholas Campbell as Ray
- Stephen McHattie as “Zodiac”
- John Bregar as Adam
- Eva Link as Lula
- Jennie Esnard as Tina
- Douglas Kidd as Officer
- Sandra Wilson as Front Desk Woman
Production
Though the story is set in Virginia, the production was filmed in Ontario, Canada, with shooting taking place in Almonte, near Ottawa.
Reception
Critical reception was mixed to negative. The film holds a 45% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Barry Hertz of The Globe and Mail gave it one star out of four, describing it as a weak imitation of a more authentic thriller.
The film is a work of fiction and does not represent factual claims about the identity of the Zodiac Killer. It belongs among portrayals catalogued under Zodiac Killer in popular culture.